Uplink carrier aggregation architecture

ABSTRACT

Uplink carrier aggregation architecture. In some embodiments, an uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) architecture may include a first antenna port and a second antenna port. The UL CA architecture may also include a first radio-frequency (RF) circuit configured to route a first transmit (TX) signal and a first receive (RX) signal to and from the first antenna port, respectively, the first RF circuit further configured to route a second RX signal from the first antenna port. The UL CA architecture may further include a second RF circuit configured to route a second TX signal to the second antenna port to provide UL CA capability between the first and second TX signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/233,903, filed Aug. 10, 2016, entitled “UPLINK CARRIER AGGREGATIONARCHITECTURE,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/203,396, filed Aug. 11, 2015, entitled “UPLINK CARRIER AGGREGATIONARCHITECTURE,” the disclosure of each of which is hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its respective entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to carrier aggregation. In particular,the present disclosure relates to an uplink (UL) carrier aggregation(CA) system.

Description of Related Art

In some wireless communication systems, such as Long TermEvolution-Advanced (LTE-Advanced), it may be desirable to supportsimultaneous transmitters being active at the same time. Supportingsimultaneous active transmitters (at the same time) may allow for addedfeatures and capabilities such as simultaneous radio operation in a userequipment (UE). Relatively high power signals from two or more transmit(TX) carriers being routed and/or processed at or near a front-end maybe a challenge. For example, various blocks in the TX and receive (RX)paths may be somewhat nonlinear, and accordingly, intermodulationproducts at a range of frequencies may be created.

SUMMARY

In some implementations, the present disclosure relates to an uplink(UL) carrier aggregation (CA) architecture. The UL CA architectureincludes a first antenna port and a second antenna port. The UL CAarchitecture also includes a first radio-frequency (RF) circuitconfigured to route a first transmit (TX) signal and a first receive(RX) signal to and from the first antenna port, respectively, the firstRF circuit further configured to route a second RX signal from the firstantenna port. The UL CA architecture further includes a second RFcircuit configured to route a second TX signal to the second antennaport to provide UL CA capability between the first and second TXsignals.

In some embodiments, wherein the first and second RX signals beingseparated by the first and second RF circuits reduces an effect of anintermodulation distortion (IMD) on the second RX signal.

In some embodiments, wherein the IMD is a third-order IMD (IMD3).

In some embodiments, the IMD3 results from intermodulation of the firstand second TX signals.

In some embodiments, the second TX signal has a frequency that is higherthan the first TX signal.

In some embodiments, the IMD3 is at a frequency higher than thefrequency of the second TX signal.

In some embodiments, the first TX signal and the first RX signal areparts of a first cellular band, and the second TX signal and the secondRX signal are parts of a second cellular band.

In some embodiments, the first cellular band includes B3.

In some embodiments, the second cellular band includes B1.

In some embodiments, the first RF circuit includes a first TX pathhaving a power amplifier (PA), a duplexer coupled to an output of thePA, and a switchable path between the duplexer and the first antennaport.

In some embodiments, the first RF circuit further includes a first RXpath configured to process the first RX signal, the first RX pathincluding a switchable path between the first antenna port and theduplexer of the first TX path.

In some embodiments, the switchable path of the first RX path includesthe switchable path of the first TX path.

In some embodiments, the first RF circuit further includes a second RXpath configured to process the second RX signal, the second RX pathincluding a switchable path between the first antenna path and a filter.

In some embodiments, the switchable path of the first RX path and theswitchable path of the second RX path include respective switchesimplemented in an antenna switch module (ASM).

In some embodiments, the second RF circuit includes a second TX pathhaving a PA, a filter coupled to an output of the PA, and a switchablepath between the filter and the second antenna port.

In some embodiments, the switchable path of the second TX path includesa switch in an antenna switch module (ASM).

In some implementations, the present disclosure relates to a method forperforming uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA). The method includesproviding a first antenna port and a second antenna port. The methodalso includes processing a first transmit (TX) signal and a firstreceive (RX) signal to and from the first antenna port, respectively.The method further includes routing a second RX signal from the firstantenna port. The method further includes routing a second TX signal tothe second antenna port to provide UL CA capability between the firstand second TX signals.

In some implementations, the present disclosure relates to aradio-frequency (RF) module. The RF module includes a packagingsubstrate configured to receive one or more components. The RF modulealso includes an uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) system implementedon the packaging substrate, the UL CA system including a first antennaport and a second antenna port, the UL CA system further including afirst RF circuit configured to route a first transmit (TX) signal and afirst receive (RX) signal to and from the first antenna port,respectively, the first RF circuit further configured to route a secondRX signal from the first antenna port, the UL CA system furtherincluding a second RF circuit configured to route a second TX signal tothe second antenna port to provide UL CA capability between the firstand second TX signals.

In some embodiments, the RF module is a front-end module (FEM).

In some embodiments, the first RF circuit is implemented on a firstmodule, and the second RF circuit is implemented on a second module.

In some embodiments, each of the first and second modules includes anantenna switch module (ASM) configured to route the first and second TXsignals.

In some embodiments, the first RF circuit and the second RF circuit areimplemented on a common module.

In some embodiments, the RF module further includes a diplexerconfigured to facilitate processing of the first and second RX signalsby the first RF circuit.

In some implementations, the present disclosure relates to a wirelessdevice. The wireless device includes a transceiver configured to processradio-frequency (RF) signals. The wireless device also includes a firstantenna and a second antenna, each in communication with thetransceiver. The wireless device further includes an uplink (UL) carrieraggregation (CA) system implemented between the transceiver and thefirst and second antennas, the UL CA system including a first RF circuitconfigured to route a first transmit (TX) signal and a first receive(RX) signal to and from the first antenna, respectively, the first RFcircuit further configured to route a second RX signal from the firstantenna, the UL CA system further including a second RF circuitconfigured to route a second TX signal to the second antenna to provideUL CA capability between the first and second TX signals.

In some embodiments, the first antenna is a primary antenna, and thesecond antenna is a UL CA antenna.

In some embodiments, the wireless device is a cellular phone.

In some embodiments, the cellular phone is capable of operating in B3and B1 bands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA)system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of intermodulation (IM) products that canarise from different signals having respective frequencies, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates examples of a third-order IM product involving twoexample frequencies associated with cellular frequency bands, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example UL CA system configured to provide UL CAfunctionality for a first band and a second band, in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example UL CA system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example UL CA system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example UL CA system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example UL CA system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example module, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example module, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example wireless device, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The headings provided herein, if any, are for convenience only and donot necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

Described herein are various examples of uplink (UL) carrier aggregation(CA) architectures, devices and methods having in proved performancesuch as reduced intermodulation impairments. FIG. 1 shows a blockdiagram of a UL CA system 100 having one or more advantageous featuresas described herein. Such a UL CA system can be configured to process aplurality of radio-frequency (RF) signals (RF1_IN, RF2_IN) and routethem to a plurality of antennas or antenna feeds as output signalsRF1_OUT, RF2_OUT.

It is noted that in wireless communication systems such as LTE-Advanced,added features and capabilities such as simultaneous radio operation ina user equipment (UE) make it necessary or desirable to supportsimultaneous transmitters being active at the same time. Relatively highpower signals from two or more transmit (TX) carriers being routedand/or processed at or near a front-end can be a challenge. For example,various blocks in the TX and receive (RX) paths are somewhat nonlinear,and accordingly, intermodulation products at a range of frequencies canbe created.

FIG. 2 shows examples of intermodulation (IM) products that can arisefrom first and second signals having respective frequencies f1 and f2.Second-order IM products can include, for example, power peaks at f1+f2,f2−f1, 2×f1, and 2×f2. Third-order IM products can include, for example,power peaks at 3×f1, 3×f2, 2×f1+f2, f1+2×f2, 2×f1−f2, and 2×f2−f1. Inmany applications, the last two third-order IM products (2×f1−f2, and2×f2−f1) can pose problems due to their close proximity to thefundamental signal frequencies f1 and f2. Accordingly, an IMD3(third-order intermodulation distortion) is typically defined as shown,or in some similar manner.

FIG. 3 shows examples of a third-order IM product involving two examplefrequencies associated with cellular frequency bands. It is noted thatthe TX portion of Band 3 (B3 TX) has a frequency range of 1.710 GHz to1.785 GHz, and the TX portion of Band 1 (B1 TX) has a frequency range of1.920 GHz to 1.980 GHz. Accordingly, suppose that two TX signals at themid-frequencies (1.7475 GHz, 1.960 GHz) of the two TX bands are beingprocessed simultaneously, such as in an UL CA application. Such twofrequencies can generate, among others, a third-order IM product atapproximately 2.1725 GHz (from 2×1.960-1.7475) as shown.

It is further noted that the RX portion of Band 1 (B1 RX) has afrequency range of 2.110 GHz to 2.170 GHz. Such a range is depicted inFIG. 3 as “RX B1.” One can see that the third-order IM product at 2.1725GHz (which results from the mid-band frequencies) is just above theupper limit of B1 RX. Thus, intermodulation between B3 TX and B1 TX canresult in a third-order IM product in a frequency range that overlaps atleast partially with the B1 RX frequency range. Accordingly, performanceassociated with B1 RX operation can suffer due to such an IM productresulting from relatively high-powered TX signals.

Some solutions that can address the foregoing problem can include, forexample, filtering of the separate TX carriers at significant penalty ininsertion loss for the affected paths. In another example, each transmitband can be provided with its own dedicated antenna, and therebyleverage the associated benefit of antenna-to-antenna isolation.However, isolating two TX carriers such that the nonlinear IM productsare not created, or are at insignificant levels, is not always possibledue to limited space, expense, and/or constraints on the tolerable lossassociated with sufficient filtering.

In some wireless applications, an UL CA configuration can include afirst antenna configured to facilitate TX and RX operations associatedwith a first band, and a second antenna configured to facilitate TX andRX operations associated with a second band. Suppose thatintermodulation between TX portions of the first and second bandsresults in an IM product (e.g., a third-order IM product) that overlapswith or is sufficiently close to an RX portion of the first or secondbands so as to create problems for such an RX band.

For the purpose of description, such an RX band or frequency can bereferred to as a “victim” band or frequency. For the purpose ofdescription, an IM product and the resulting distortion can be referredto as IMD3 since the third-order IM product is typically the mostproblematic. However, and as described herein, other order IM productsoverlapping with an RX or TX band can be addressed utilizing one or morefeatures as described herein.

In the foregoing example, there are two sources of IMD3 in the firstantenna. The first source includes the TX chain associated with thefirst antenna, and the second source includes leakage from the TX chainassociated with the second antenna (through a finite antenna-to-antennaisolation). Similarly, there are two sources of IMD3 in the secondantenna. The first source includes the TX chain associated with thesecond antenna, and the second source includes leakage from the TX chainassociated with the first antenna (through a finite antenna-to-antennaisolation).

For the purpose of description, a TX band or frequency that impacts avictim band or frequency the most or in some other manner can bereferred to as an “offending” band or frequency. In the foregoingexample, suppose that the RX band of the second band is a victim band.Then, the TX band of the second band can be an offending band due to,for example, its stronger presence and closer proximity in frequencyrelative to the victim RX band. Such a stronger presence can be due to,for example, the TX band of the second band being closer to theoffending IMD3, and therefore being multiplied by 2.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an UL CA system 100 configured to provide ULCA functionality for a first band (Band A) and a second band (Band B).TX operation associated with the first band is shown to be facilitatedby a first antenna (ANT_1) 130, and TX operation associated with thesecond band is shown to be facilitated by a second antenna (ANT_2) 150.

In the example of FIG. 4, RX operation associated with the first band isshown to be facilitated by the first antenna 130. Accordingly, a duplexconfiguration indicated as 117 can include a duplexer 116 configured tofilter a first amplified RF signal from a PA 114 of an amplificationpath 112 and route it to the first antenna 130 through an antenna switchmodule (ASM) 118. The duplexer 116 can be further configured to filter afirst RX signal received from the first antenna 130 and route it to anRX circuit (indicated as an “Rx” path) for further processing.

FIG. 4 shows that in some embodiments, TX and RX paths associated with agiven band can be separated such that its TX operation is performedthrough one antenna, and its RX operation is performed through anotherantenna. In the example of FIG. 4, TX operation associated with thesecond band (Band B) is shown to be performed through the second antenna150, and RX operation associated with the second band (Band B) is shownto be performed through the first antenna 130.

In the example of FIG. 4, the foregoing TX operation of the second bandcan include a TX path 147 through which a second amplified RF signalfrom a PA 144 (of an amplification path 142) is passed through a filter145 and routed to the second antenna 150 through an ASM 148. Theforegoing RX operation of the second band can include an RX path 127configured to receive a second RX signal from the first antenna 130through the ASM 118. Such an RX signal can be passed through a filter ora duplexer 126 and be routed to an RX circuit (indicated as an “Rx”path) for further processing.

In the example of FIG. 4, the TX portion of the second band (Band B) canbe an offending band, and the RX portion of the second band (Band B) canbe a victim band. Accordingly, the TX and RX paths associated with thesecond band (Band B) can be separated, such that the TX operation isperformed through the second antenna 150 and the RX operation isperformed through the first antenna as described above.

In the example of FIG. 4, it is noted that a diplexer 128 can beprovided between the first antenna 130 and the ASM 118 to, for example,facilitate simultaneous RX operations of the first and second bandsthrough the first antenna 130. It is further noted that the ASM 118associated with the first antenna 130 can include a combination ofswitching for TX/RX operations of the first band and switching for RXoperation of the second band.

In the example of FIG. 4, the TX/RX functionalities of the first bandand the RX functionality of the second band are shown to be implementedas a first module (Module_1) 110, and the TX functionality of the secondband, as well as one or more UL CA functionalities, are shown to beimplemented as a second module (Module_2) 140. It will be understoodthat other forms of functional and/or modular groupings are alsopossible.

FIG. 5 shows a UL CA system 100 that can be a more specific example ofthe UL CA system 100 of FIG. 4. In the example of FIG. 5, the first band(Band A in FIG. 4) can be B3 having a TX frequency range of 1.710 GHz to1.785 GHz, and an RX frequency range of 1.805 GHz to 1.880 GHz. Thesecond band (Band B in FIG. 4) can be B1 having a TX frequency range of1.920 GHz to 1.980 GHz, and an RX frequency range of 2.110 GHz to 2.170GHz.

In the example of FIG. 5, various components associated with the duplexconfiguration 117, the RX path 127, and the TX path 147 can be generallysimilar to the example of FIG. 4 and configured to facilitate operationswith the B3 and B1 bands. In some embodiments, the ASM 118 associatedwith the first antenna 130 can be configured to include mid-band (MB)functionality to accommodate the duplex operations of the B3 band andthe RX operation of the B1 band. Similarly, the diplexer 128 can beconfigured as a low-band/mid-band diplexer to accommodate the RXoperations of the B3 and B1 bands.

In the example of FIG. 5, the ASM 118 is shown to include a switch or aswitching functionality depicted as S3 that provides a connectionbetween the B3 duplexer 113 and the L/M diplexer 128, so as tofacilitate the TX/RX duplex operations of the B3 band through the firstantenna 130. The same ASM 118 is shown to include a switch or aswitching functionality depicted as S1 that provides a connectionbetween the B1 duplexer 126 and the L/M diplexer 128, so as tofacilitate the RX operation of the B1 band through the first antenna130. Routing of such an RX signal is depicted as 160. Further routing ofthe filtered output from the B1 duplexer 126 is depicted as 162.

In the example of FIG. 5, the ASM 148 is shown to include a switch or aswitching functionality as shown to provide a connection between the B1TX filter 146 and the second antenna 150, so as to facilitate the TXoperation of the B1 band through the first antenna 150. Routing of sucha TX signal is depicted as 172. Routing of the amplified B1 TX signalbetween the PA 144 and the B1 TX filter 146 is depicted as 170.

FIG. 6 shows a more general example of the UL CA system 100 describedherein in reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 6 shows that in someembodiments, a UL CA system 100 can be configured to operate with firstand second antennas 202, 212. A first component 200 of the UL CA system100 can be configured to operate with the first antenna 202, and asecond component 210 can be configured to operate with the secondantenna 212.

FIG. 6 further shows that the UL CA system 100 can be configured suchthat TX and RX functionalities associated with a frequency band can beseparated into the two components 200, 210 so as to improve performance.For example, the TX functionality of a second band can be implemented inthe second component 210, and the RX functionality of the second bandcan be implemented in the first component 200. The TX/RX functionalitiesof the first band can be implemented in the first component 200. Asdescribed herein, such a configuration can reduce the impact of an IMD3,resulting from relatively powerful TX signals of the first and secondbands, on the RX performance of the second band.

The examples of FIGS. 4-6 are described in the context of UL CA of twobands. FIGS. 7 and 8 show that in some embodiments, one or more featuresof the present disclosure can also be implemented in configurationsinvolving more than two bands. For example, FIG. 7 shows a UL CA system100 configured to operate with three antennas 202, 212, 222. A firstcomponent 200 can be configured to operate with the first antenna 202, asecond component 210 can be configured to operate with the secondantenna 212, and a third component 220 can be configured to operate withthe third antenna 222.

In the example of FIG. 7, the first component 200 is shown to beconfigured to provide TX/RX functionalities for a first band, as well asRX functionality for a second band, similar to the example of FIG. 6.The second component 210 can be configured to provide TX functionalityfor the second band similar to the example of FIG. 6, as well as RXfunctionality for a third band. The third component 220 can beconfigured to provide TX functionality for the third band.

In another example, FIG. 8 shows a UL CA system 100 configured tooperate with three antennas 202, 212, 222. A first component 200 can beconfigured to operate with the first antenna 202, a second component 210can be configured to operate with the second antenna 212, and a thirdcomponent 220 can be configured to operate with the third antenna 222.

In the example of FIG. 8, the first component 200 is shown to beconfigured to provide TX/RX functionalities for a first band. The secondcomponent 210 can be configured to provide TX functionality for a secondband, as well as RX functionality for a third band. The third component220 can be configured to provide TX functionality for the third band, aswell as RX functionality for the second band.

It will be understood that other combinations of TX and RXfunctionalities of the three bands can be implemented. It will also beunderstood that other numbers of bands and/or numbers of antennas can beutilized.

In various examples described herein, an IMD3 is used as an example ofhow an IM product can interfere with an RX operation. It will beunderstood that other IM products and/or harmonics can also causesimilar problems for one or more RX operations associated with UL CAsystems. Accordingly, it will be understood that one or more features ofthe present disclosure can also address IM products and/or harmonicsother than IMD3s.

In various examples described herein, two or three antennas areutilized. It will be understood that one or more features of the presentdisclosure can also be implemented with other numbers of antennas. Forexample, there may be three primary antennas configured to operate inlow-band (LB), mid-band (MB), and high-band (HB) modes, and threediversity antennas configured to operate in LB, MB, and HB modes. Someor all of such antennas can facilitate a UL CA system having one or morefeatures as described herein.

In some embodiments, one or more features of the present disclosure canbe implemented in architectures in which TX and RX operations areseparated to obtain desirable benefits as described herein. For example,a UL CA system can be implemented so as to operate with a TX-dedicatedantenna for some or all of TX operations; and some or all of RXoperations can be facilitated by a primary RX-dedicated antenna plus adiversity RX-dedicated antenna.

In some examples described herein, two-band UL CA configuration isdescribed as being facilitate by two antennas, three bands by threeantennas, etc. In some embodiments, a given antenna can be coupled to aplurality of antenna feeds, such that corresponding bands can operatethrough the antenna. Accordingly, one or more features of the presentdisclosure can be implemented with a plurality of antenna feeds as ifsuch antenna feeds are antennas. Such plurality of antenna feeds can becoupled to one or more physical antennas.

In various examples described herein, antenna-to-antenna isolation canbe utilized to improve performance when TX and RX operations areseparated into different antennas. In some situations, filtering canfurther provide additional improvement in performance. Accordingly,significant performance can be realized with reduced number of filters.Examples of such performance improvement are described herein in greaterdetail.

In various examples described herein, problem-causing IM products aredescribed as having frequencies higher than each of the two fundamentalfrequencies. Such a situation can be appropriate when the RX portions ofthe two bands are higher than the respective TX portions. In some bands,however, the RX portion may be lower than the TX portion. Accordingly,it will be understood that one or more features of the presentdisclosure can be implemented to address IM products that havefrequencies that are below each of the two fundamental frequencies.

In the example context of an IMD3 being on the higher side of the two TXfrequencies, it is noted that the magnitude of IMD3 (e.g., see FIG. 2)can be express as IMD3=2P_Txa+P_Txb−2*OIP3, where OIP3 is an outputthird order intercept point in dBm, and P_Txa and P_Txb reflect thepower of the respective TX frequencies, also in dBm. By separating thevictim RX band and the offending TX band as described herein (e.g.,FIGS. 4 and 5), one can save an amount of IMD3 approximately equal tothe difference between the P_Txa and P_Txb power present at thecorresponding antenna ports, which for the example listed in Tables 1Aand 1B is approximately 18 dB.

Tables 1A and 1B list various parameters associated with a UL CA IMDanalysis for the example configuration of FIG. 5, in which B3 and B1bands are being carrier aggregated for uplink. It is noted that thevarious values listed are approximate.

TABLE 1A Primary ANT-ANT UL CA Primary B3 TX Path PA Duplexer ASMDiplexer ANT Port Isolation Ant Port Insertion Loss (dB) 2 1 1 TX FilterRejection @ 45 1 1 15 Offending B1 TX Freq. (dB) TX Filter Rejection @45 1 1 Victim B1 RX Freq. (dB) IP3 (dBm) 39 70 70 100 B3 Forward Pout(dBm) 24 22 21 20 20 5 B1 Backward Pout (dBm) −42 3 4 5 5 20 IMD3 (2xB1,B3) (dBm) −138 −112 −111 −170 Aggregated IMD3 (dBm) −109.9 −124.9

TABLE 1B UL CA ANT-ANT Primary UL CA B1 TX Path PA Duplexer ASM ANT PortIsolation Ant Port Insertion Loss (dB) 2 1 TX Filter Rejection @ 45 1 15Offending B1 TX Freg. (dB) TX Filter Rejection @ 45 1 Victim B1 RX Freq.(dB) IP3 (dBm) 39 70 70 B1 Forward Pout (dBm) 23 21 20 20 5 B3 BackwardPout (dBm) −41 4 5 5 20 IMD3 (2xB1, B3) (dBm) −73 −94 −95 AggregatedIMD3 (dBm) −92.0 −107.0

FIGS. 9 and 10 show that in some embodiments, a UL CA system 100 havingone or more features as described herein can be implemented in apackaged module 300. Such a module can include a packaging substrate 302configured to receive a plurality of components.

In each of FIGS. 9 and 10, the packaged module 300 can include a firstantenna port 304 and a second antenna port 306. The first antenna port304 can be coupled to a first antenna (not shown), and the secondantenna port 306 can be coupled to a second antenna (not shown).

In the example of FIG. 9, the first antenna port 304 can be connected toa first module or a component 200 having one or more features asdescribed herein. For example, the first module 200 can be a primarymodule (110) described in reference to FIG. 5, and the second module 210can be a UL CA module (140) also described in reference to FIG. 5. Itwill be understood that each of the first and second modules 200, 210can be implemented in a single device, as a functional assembly of anumber of devices, or any combination thereof.

In the example of FIG. 10, both of the first antenna port 304 and thesecond antenna port 306 can be connected to a module or a component 230having one or more features as described herein. For example, such amodule (230) can include functionalities associated with a primarymodule (110) and a UL CA module (140) described in reference to FIG. 5.It will be understood that the module 230 can be implemented in a singledevice, as a functional assembly of a number of devices, or anycombination thereof.

In some implementations, an architecture, device and/or circuit havingone or more features described herein can be included in an RF devicesuch as a wireless device. Such an architecture, device and/or circuitcan be implemented directly in the wireless device, in one or moremodular forms as described herein, or in some combination thereof. Insome embodiments, such a wireless device can include, for example, acellular phone, a smart-phone, a hand-held wireless device with orwithout phone functionality, a wireless tablet, a wireless router, awireless modem configured to support machine type communications, awireless access point, a wireless base station, etc. Although describedin the context of wireless devices, it will be understood that one ormore features of the present disclosure can also be implemented in otherRF systems such as base stations.

FIG. 11 depicts an example wireless device 500 having one or moreadvantageous features described herein. In some embodiments, suchadvantageous features can be implemented in a front-end (FE) module 300.The FEM 300 is shown to include one or more power amplifiers (PAs) 512,one or more switching modules 515, and one or more duplexers and/orfilters 514.

In the example of FIG. 11, the switching module 515 is shown to becoupled to three example antennas. For example, a main antenna (alsoreferred to herein as a primary antenna) 520, a diversity antenna 524,and a UL CA antenna 522 can be provided. It will be understood thatother numbers of antennas and/or antenna feeds can be implemented tofacilitate one or more features of the present disclosure.

The PAs 512 can receive their respective RF signals from a transceiver510 that can be configured and operated to generate RF signals to beamplified and transmitted, and to process received signals. Thetransceiver 510 is shown to interact with a baseband sub-system 508 thatis configured to provide conversion between data and/or voice signalssuitable for a user and RF signals suitable for the transceiver 510. Thetransceiver 510 is also shown to be connected to a power managementcomponent 506 that is configured to manage power for the operation ofthe wireless device 500. Such power management can also controloperations of the baseband sub-system 508 and other components of thewireless device 500.

The baseband sub-system 508 is shown to be connected to a user interface502 to facilitate various input and output of voice and/or data providedto and received from the user. The baseband sub-system 508 can also beconnected to a memory 504 that is configured to store data and/orinstructions to facilitate the operation of the wireless device, and/orto provide storage of information for the user.

A number of other wireless device configurations can utilize one or morefeatures described herein. For example, a wireless device does not needto be a multi-band device. In another example, a wireless device caninclude additional antennas such as diversity antenna, and additionalconnectivity features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

One or more features of the present disclosure can be implemented withvarious cellular frequency bands as described herein. Examples of suchbands are listed in Table 2. It will be understood that at least some ofthe bands can be divided into sub-bands. It will also be understood thatone or more features of the present disclosure can be implemented withfrequency ranges that do not have designations such as the examples ofTable 2.

TABLE 2 Tx Frequency Range Rx Frequency Range Band Mode (MHz) (MHz) B1FDD 1,920-1,980 2,110-2,170 B2 FDD 1,850-1,910 1,930-1,990 B3 FDD1,710-1,785 1,805-1,880 B4 FDD 1,710-1,755 2,110-2,155 B5 FDD 824-849869-894 B6 FDD 830-840 875-885 B7 FDD 2,500-2,570 2,620-2,690 B8 FDD880-915 925-960 B9 FDD 1,749.9-1,784.9 1,844.9-1,879.9 B10 FDD1,710-1,770 2,110-2,170 B11 FDD 1,427.9-1,447.9 1,475.9-1,495.9 B12 FDD699-716 729-746 B13 FDD 777-787 746-756 B14 FDD 788-798 758-768 B15 FDD1,900-1,920 2,600-2,620 B16 FDD 2,010-2,025 2,585-2,600 B17 FDD 704-716734-746 B18 FDD 815-830 860-875 B19 FDD 830-845 875-890 B20 FDD 832-862791-821 B21 FDD 1,447.9-1,462.9 1,495.9-1,510.9 B22 FDD 3,410-3,4903,510-3,590 B23 FDD 2,000-2,020 2,180-2,200 B24 FDD 1,626.5-1,660.51,525-1,559 B25 FDD 1,850-1,915 1,930-1,995 B26 FDD 814-849 859-894 B27FDD 807-824 852-869 B28 FDD 703-748 758-803 B29 FDD N/A 716-728 B30 FDD2,305-2,315 2,350-2,360 B31 FDD 452.5-457.5 462.5-467.5 B32 FDD N/A1,452-1,496 B33 TDD 1,900-1,920 1,900-1,920 B34 TDD 2,010-2,0252,010-2,025 B35 TDD 1,850-1,910 1,850-1,910 B36 TDD 1,930-1,9901,930-1,990 B37 TDD 1,910-1,930 1,910-1,930 B38 TDD 2,570-2,6202,570-2,620 B39 TDD 1,880-1,920 1,880-1,920 B40 TDD 2,300-2,4002,300-2,400 B41 TDD 2,496-2,690 2,496-2,690 B42 TDD 3,400-3,6003,400-3,600 B43 TDD 3,600-3,800 3,600-3,800 B44 TDD 703-803 703-803

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” The word “coupled”, as generally usedherein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directlyconnected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, shall refer to this applicationas a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Wherethe context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using thesingular or plural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items,that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: anyof the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and anycombination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

While some embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing uplink (UL) carrieraggregation (CA), the method comprising: providing a first antenna portand a second antenna port; processing, by a first radio-frequencycircuit, a first transmit signal associated with a first band and afirst receive signal associated with the first band to and from thefirst antenna port, respectively, the first radio-frequency circuitincluding a duplexer to route the first transmit signal and the firstreceive signal, the first radio-frequency circuit including a firsttransmit path to process the first transmit signal, the first transmitpath including a first switchable path between the duplexer and thefirst antenna port, the first radio-frequency circuit including a firstreceive path to process the first receive signal, the first receive pathincluding a second switchable path between the duplexer and the firstantenna port; routing, by the first radio-frequency circuit, a secondreceive signal associated with a second band from the first antennaport, the first radio-frequency circuit including a filter to route thesecond receive signal, the first radio-frequency circuit including asecond receive path to process the second receive signal, the secondreceive path including a third switchable path between the first antennaport and the filter; and routing, by a second radio-frequency circuit, asecond transmit signal associated with the second band to the secondantenna port to provide UL CA capability between the first and secondtransmit signals.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and secondreceive signals being separated by the first and second radio-frequencycircuits reduces an effect of an intermodulation distortion (IMD) on thesecond receive signal.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the IMD is athird-order IMD (IMD3).
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the IMD3results from intermodulation of the first and second transmit signals.5. The method of claim 4 wherein the second transmit signal has afrequency that is higher than the first transmit signal.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein the IMD3 is at a frequency higher than the frequencyof the second transmit signal.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein thefirst transmit signal and the first receive signal are parts of a firstcellular band, and the second transmit signal and the second receivesignal are parts of a second cellular band.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein the first cellular band includes B3.
 9. The method 1 of claim 8wherein the second cellular band includes B1.
 10. The method of claim 1wherein the first transmit path includes a power amplifier, the duplexercoupled to an output of the power amplifier, and the first switchablepath between the duplexer and the first antenna port.
 11. The method ofclaim 10 wherein the first receive path configured to process the firstreceive signal includes the second switchable path between the firstantenna port and the duplexer of the first transmit path.
 12. The methodof claim 11 wherein the second switchable path of the first receive pathincludes the first switchable path of the first transmit path.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the second switchable path of the firstreceive path and the third switchable path of the second receive pathinclude respective switches implemented in an antenna switch module. 14.The method of claim 11 wherein the second radio-frequency circuitincludes a second transmit path having a power amplifier, a filtercoupled to an output of the power amplifier, and a fourth switchablepath between the filter and the second antenna port.
 15. The method ofclaim 14 wherein the fourth switchable path of the second transmit pathincludes a switch in an antenna switch module.
 16. A wireless devicecomprising: a transceiver configured to process radio-frequency signals;a first antenna and a second antenna, each in communication with thetransceiver; and an uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) systemimplemented between the transceiver and the first and second antennas,the UL CA system including a first radio-frequency circuit configured toroute a first transmit signal associated with a first band and a firstreceive signal associated with the first band to and from the firstantenna, respectively, the first radio-frequency circuit including aduplexer to route the first transmit signal and the first receivesignal, the first radio-frequency circuit further configured to route asecond receive signal associated with a second band from the firstantenna, the first radio-frequency circuit including a filter to routethe second receive signal, the first radio-frequency circuit including afirst transmit path to process the first transmit signal, the firsttransmit path including a first switchable path between the duplexer andthe first antenna, the first radio-frequency circuit including a firstreceive path to process the first receive signal, the first receive pathincluding a second switchable path between the duplexer and the firstantenna, the first radio-frequency circuit including a second receivepath to process the second receive signal, the second receive pathincluding a third switchable path between the first antenna and thefilter, the UL CA system further including a second radio-frequencycircuit configured to route a second transmit signal associated with thesecond band to the second antenna to provide UL CA capability betweenthe first and second transmit signals.
 17. The wireless device of claim16 wherein the first antenna is a primary antenna and the second antennais a UL CA antenna.
 18. The wireless device of claim 17 wherein thewireless device is a cellular phone.
 19. The wireless device of claim 18wherein the cellular phone is capable of operating in B3 and B1 bands.